Berlin SPD and Greens pause coalition talks with the Left over Israel policy dispute
The Social Democratic Party and the Greens have suspended exploratory talks with the Left Party after the latter adopted a different stance on Israel and antisemitism, leaving the possibility of future negotiations open.
Berlin's Social Democratic Party (SPD) and the Greens announced on Tuesday that they are halting exploratory coalition negotiations with the Left Party. The decision follows a disagreement over a joint statement on Israel's right to exist and measures against antisemitism. The Left Party approved a separate text that omitted references to Israel's existence as "non-negotiable" and did not include proposed sanctions for violations.
"We have taken note that the Left Party have reached a different arrangement within their own party," the joint statement from SPD lead candidate Steffen Krach and Greens lead candidate Werner Graf said.
The parties also stressed that the pause does not close the door on future talks. "This means that at this point we have to interrupt the coalition negotiations, so as to evaluate whether or not our agreement from last week still stands," they added, urging the Left to clarify its commitment to the earlier agreements.
The Left emerged as Berlin's largest party in the recent state election with just under 26% of the vote, while the Greens and SPD received about 14% and 12% respectively. A combined left-leaning bloc would hold a slim majority in the city-state parliament, though the SPD and Greens could also consider a coalition with the conservative CDU, which finished second with 18.8%.
Conservative Christian Democrats and Chancellor Friedrich Merz have criticized the Left's stance, suggesting the SPD and Greens should negotiate with the CDU instead. Merz warned that allegations of impropriety against the Left "cannot be dismissed with a piece of paper."